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Young engineers at Formula Student

Young engineers at Formula Student

Designing and building a race car within just one year: That’s what Formula Student Germany is about. Around 3,500 university students from all over the world took part in this year’s competition. Why Volkswagen supports this event.

It’s the event for young people studying vehicle engineering: the annual “Formula Student Germany” car-making competition at the legendary Hockenheimring racetrack. Around 120 university teams participated from August 6-12 to connect theory with practice. Each team had a year to develop its vehicle and concept – ranging from electric powertrain and internal combustion engines to human driver or computer algorithm for the “Driverless” category of autonomous race cars.

There are many different Formula Students around the world, but the German competition is the premium event. “Formula Student Germany is the best and most difficult,” says Daan Schopmeijer, 23, who has a bachelor’s degree in physics and leads the team from Delft University of Technology. “The vehicle tests in particular, the scrutineering – that’s really tough here.” That is to say, not every race car makes the cut.All of the cars are painstakingly tested while the teams stand nervously to one side, praying that everything goes well.

The best overall package wins

“You work toward this event for a whole year,” Schopmeijer says, “and have only this one chance to win. That makes it pretty exciting.” He steers his team confidently and calmly through the competition. But as he watches the car during a test run, he says: “My heart’s pounding.” The Formula Student isn’t just about the car’s driving performance. It also includes other categories, such as the best business plan or the most cost-efficient use of various materials. Points are given for both static disciplines, such as presenting and defending a team’s business plan, or dynamic ones on the racetrack. The team with the most points wins. So it’s not necessarily the fastest car that captures the prize, but the best overall package.

Delft University of Technology is one of six teams that Volkswagen supports with both funds and advice. The other five teams are: Hamburg University of Technology, the University of Bremen, RWTH Aachen University, the University of Hanover and Braunschweig University of Technology. “The Formula Student is very interesting for us,” explains Laura Fey from Volkswagen HR Marketing, who was at the Hockenheimring racetrack and had frozen yoghurt, fresh coffee and an open ear for the students at the Volkswagen Race Truck. “These are young people who are truly committed, and who understand not just the theory of vehicle construction, but also the nuts and bolts.” Fey and her team support the Formula Student participants, help with team-building events, and provide advice and assistance with organization and technology. She says: “It’s a terrific benefit for any employer to have students and graduates with so much practical experience.”

A casual atmosphere

The sun is beating down, and most people are fanning themselves with anything that can generate even the slightest breeze. Hats and umbrellas ward off the sun. The student teams often consist of 60 people – or more, since there also has to be someone who looks after the catering. You could see them hurrying across the site with pots of pasta or mountains of sandwiches. Everywhere, race cars are being pushed carefully out of the pits to the testing area and back again. People know each other, greet each other. There’s concentration in the air, but it’s always casual and very friendly. “I heard you got through scrutineering. Congratulations!” calls out a smiling young man to another team that is under way with a handcart loaded with bottled water. People help each other and push each other to perform at a very high level.

The smells of oil, gasoline and burning rubber fills the air. Engines howl or purr, depending on the power plant under the hood: gasoline or electricity. Everywhere people are tinkering and fine-tuning the cars. Fingers pound commands into laptop keyboards. The weather forecast is checked. The grip of the tires depends on the strength of the sun, and that’s just one of many factors that determine performance. That’s why engineers from Volkswagen are also on-site as volunteers at Formula Student Germany: Team sponsors consult with the teams in the pits and on the racetrack or serve as members of the jury for the ratings. In addition, technology experts and employees of Volkswagen are available with Laura Fey in the Race Truck in case students want to learn something more about job and career opportunities at Volkswagen. One of the people who participated in the Formula Student and subsequently joined Volkswagen is Vignesh Venkatesan.

In the passing lane with Formula Student Germany

He has worked in the Group for two years now, has completed a cross traineeship and is very satisfied: “Not many employers offer such good opportunities to get to know everything – internationally, too.” He participated in the competition twice for the Hamburg University of Technology, and his interest in the Volkswagen Group was aroused while he was at the Hockenheimring. He now advises people who are curious about Volkswagen. That’s also part of Formula Student: Being able to list your participation or even a victory in the competition on your résumé can certainly help you move into the passing lane in career terms.

Interview with Vignesh Venkatesan, trainee at Volkswagen StartUp Cross program

Why did you come to Volkswagen?

I wanted something international. The Startup Cross Trainee program was exactly what I was looking for after finishing my master's in mechanical engineering and management. It covers 18 months, and the trainee works in a variety of stations at different places: strategy, development, sales, product management. I was in China, too. That was really exciting. We spent three months in Shanghai and three months in Changchun, where we worked on human-machine interfaces.

What sort of experiences did you have at Formula Student Germany?

It was pretty incredible. I participated twice and learned a whole lot – not just about how you build a car, but also how team structures work, how to keep an eye on the money, how to communicate efficiently, how to make good decisions despite time and cost pressures and how to delegate. It’s really a little boot camp. You won’t find that much condensed practical experience anywhere else. And Volkswagen’s support of our team was really great! And now, from the perspective of Volkswagen, Formula Student is one of the biggest talent pools in existence.

What advice would you give interested students and graduates?

The trainee program was terrific, and I can only recommend it! It was really varied and very well structured. I’m in a pretty good position now at Volkswagen. Because the mobility sector is going through such tremendous change right now, it stays very exciting. There’s a fair amount of room to maneuver and opportunities to grow professionally.

Boot camp, tinkering and friendship

Worried faces in the Team Delft pit: The e-motor is making a strange noise. The team performs a series of tests to find the cause. A little later, the head of Team Hamburg, Floyd Bischop, is confident. Bischop, who is 23 and studying mechanical engineering, says, “Up to now, everything’s gone very well for us. Obviously, it’s a lot of work, a lot of hours every week that we’ve invested. But it’s worth it. And you meet really great people from all over!” No matter whom you ask, the answer is always similar: It’s a great event and you learn so much, regardless of whether you win or lose. This mixture of boot camp, tinkering and friendship appears to be a good thing.

“It’s a great honor to participate,” says Anshu Kumar from Madras University in India. “For us, it’s less a competition than an experience.” Jing Han, a Chinese student from the opposite pit, agrees. “There are people here from all over the world. We learn so much in this international and professional environment,” he says before going back to work on his team’s speedster. Team Aachen has run into trouble: The battery appears to have given up the ghost, and the team is on the verge of failing scrutineering. If you’re not ready on time, you miss the race, because safety is a top priority at Formula Student. Aachen’s team captain, Daniel Neumann, says: “It’s a prototype, and that means anything can happen. But that’s part of the attraction: You have no guarantee it will work.” Team Delft has now solved its problem, and the motor is purring again. In the end, the teams from Delft, Hamburg and Aachen did not capture first place. The team’s members are naturally a little disappointed, but they’re very glad they participated – and that’s exactly the point.

The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law. Since 1st September 2017, certain new vehicles are already being type-approved according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Starting on September 1st 2018, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) will be replaced by the WLTP in stages. Owing to the more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured according to the WLTP will, in many cases, be higher than those measured according to the NEDC. For further information on the differences between the WLTP and NEDC, please visit www.volkswagen.de/wltp.

We are currently still required by law to state the NEDC figures. In the case of new vehicles which have been type-approved according to the WLTP, the NEDC figures are derived from the WLTP data. It is possible to specify the WLTP figures voluntarily in addition until such time as this is required by law. In cases where the NEDC figures are specified as value ranges, these do not refer to a particular individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the sales offering. They are intended exclusively as a means of comparison between different vehicle types. Additional equipment and accessories (e.g. add-on parts, different tyre formats, etc.) may change the relevant vehicle parameters, such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and, in conjunction with weather and traffic conditions and individual driving style, may affect fuel consumption, electrical power consumption, CO2 emissions and the performance figures for the vehicle.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at www.dat.de.